FORT MYERS, Fla. • As a first baseman/pitcher for a little league team out of Texas, the 11-year-old was already showing the kind of power that would make him a first-round pick -- even with fences that now seem a short throw away.
At the 2004 Little League World Series, his second, the righthanded hitter paced his team with a .632 average (12-for-19) and seven of those 12 hits went for extra bases. He hit four home runs and drove in 11 runs. He led the tournament in almost every significant statistical category.
He tied for the lead in runs scored.